Need for Speed: The Run

Need for Speed: The Run - 04/07/1203:56 PM

I know it's not a sim, but I only inhabit the Motorsports part of the forum

Does anyone have this game so I can add them to Autolog/Origin? bokuwahmz is my name there.

I've been waiting for a great NFS game since Most Wanted, but it never came (Hot Pursuit wasn't bad, but a bit too "floaty").. and then I tried NFS:TR and was disappointed. But this weekend I picked it up again and gave it another go and picked up where I left off. I had already past the initial Quick Time Events () and the first getaway slash train scene () so it was into the actual "racing" straight away.

That must have done the trick.

The varied environments looked amazing on the Frostbite 2 engine, from wide highways, great green plains, snow, mountains, desert, forests, just amazing! And the racing was great. I was waiting for a game with varied environments like in High Stakes (NFS4) and it was here too. The handling was back to (almost) Most Wanted style, which was great too.

To top it all off, the final level BLEW MY MIND It was just crazy, really enjoyed it.

The only downsides were the few QTEs that broke up the racing, but there were only about 3 or 4, so it was bearable. And also the game was a little short, would have loved more races. But now I'm going to redo it all on the unlocked Extreme difficulty and also do the Challenges. Multiplayer? Maybe.

Overall I'd give it a solid "Best NFS Since Most Wanted" rating, which is pretty high!

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/09/1206:32 AM

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/09/1212:35 PM

It's actually not bad with the wheel, and I used the G25 with it. The driving in The Run is much more sophisticated than for example in Hot Pursuit. You have to brake, can't/shouldn't drift around every corner, should watch throttle to avoid spinning RWD... Although there's obvious aids that keep you from getting severely out of shape, during normal driving it's quite a semi-sim.

Driving a Porsche through some long mountain pass with G25 and force feedback is very enjoyable.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/09/1204:28 PM

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/09/1205:08 PM

I say you will love NFS:TR even more than MW, if given a chance. I am nearly through all the challenges and it just keeps getting better.

For car customization, you can choose which colour you want and you can also choose between 3 design kits (depending on car). The kits are purely superficial but make the cars looks awesome (and there are a lot of cars).

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/11/1209:29 AM

Last one I bought was NFS:HP (the new one) and was disappointed in it. It was fun, but I prefer working for and buying my own cars, and being able to select which car to use in which race. Annoying the cops to make bounty in MW was great fun too. Any of these in TR?

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/11/1209:33 AM

No you can't buy your own cars. In the main story you can only change your car at gas stations which are every few races or something. In challenges you can pick a car from a group they've selected for that challenge. There is no buying of cars, only unlocking.

Btw you can play MW in widescreen. If you tell me what resolution you want I can send you the new EXE.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/11/1209:53 AM

Let me be clear --- I liked the NFS U, NFS U2, and NFS MW system wherein you had some cash, bought a car, upgraded it, and used it to race, earn cash/bounty, and eventually "earn" your way into new cars which you then upgrade/race/etc. I am not very fond of the NFS:HP mode wherein cars were unlocked and free to use after a certain point, but no ability to upgrade or personalize cars outside of skinning it... I guess this system does not really let you spend "quality time" in the car getting to "learn" it, even in an arcade racer.

Can you really play MW in widescreen? There was a "fix" once but they only "stretched" the picture over the screen, hence the cars seemed wider/lower than they really were. Is this the same thing you are talking about?

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1207:48 AM

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1208:33 AM

I like that they're trying to find new angles with the NFS series. If some work and some don't, that's okay.

I started with the original NFS, so to me the series has always been about racing exotic/high powered cars in a completely irresponsible manner.

By comparison, driving "normal" street cars modified with "tuner kits" and stickers just doesn't make for an interesting game. The series got a bit stale with the NFSU period. I wasn't part of the "Fast & Furious" crowd, never got into the "import tuner" scene, never really enjoyed that part of the series; I'm glad they moved away from it and started trying new things.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1212:00 PM

Even though I loved the Underground series and Most Wanted, it got stale after that. To me, The Run is a throwback to the original games with all the cars and varied environments, and lots of flat out racing around traffic. and is better than the recent Hot Pursuit. This game is, in my opinion, one of the best in the franchise. I went back and played Underground, Most Wanted, Carbon, Hot Pursuit (2010) and The Run definitely has the best handling (IMO). The controls are tight and feel good. And the graphics.. Frostbite 2, need I say more?

I can tell this game was in development for 3 years, everything is polished, right down to the interface. So I was definitely surprised by the mixed reviews, I hope it doesn't deter them from making a sequel or from continuing down this route. I think they're on a 2 year development cycle now with Criterion, so hopefully the quality doesn't decline.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1201:06 PM

Lol, I remember when ProStreet gave my old PC the seizures. But yeah, I used to play NFS II SE, I think it was, and loved it.

However, a turning point came when I played NFS Porsche Unleashed. I had to re-learn how to drive those cars, and by "drive," I mean keyboard-and-mouse drive. I was mid-teens during that time, IIRC. The new driving model plus being able to buy, customize, paint and tune your own car made me more "involved" than just racing around madly on a track. Plus any damage on the car you had to pay for in credits, so no-damage driving was actually rewarded. From then on, I liked any iteration that let you "own" a car and tune it more than just changing the skin. Because of that, I never really liked NFS HP. It was good and fun, but not like MW.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1201:41 PM

NFS2SE was one of my favorite games ever, I spent so many hours perfecting my runs through traffic.

NFS Porsche Unleashed was awesome too, probably the last NFS that I truly spent tons of time with, part of that is because I discovered much better sims since, but also it seems like the series went much more gimmicky after that.

Looking forward to picking up NFS:The Run soon when I see it on sale to see how it matches up, the game engine from BF3 is one of the things I was looking forward to with it before having to boycott it due to EA's douchebaggery on the Porsche license (glad they gave in on that eventually).

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1201:45 PM

Electronics Art is interested in producing a movie based on the Need for Speed name and fame. The film is said to include fast paced car-related action and should offer a similar experience to the top grossing Fast & Furious movies, which debuted in 2001.

A script has already been written and offered to various movie studios including Warner Bros, Sony and Paramount. According to various sources Paramount appears the most eager of the bunch and is said to have made a multi-million offer already in exchange for exclusive rights to the household name and script.

The only studio that is not the least bit curious is Universal. The producers behind the Fast & Furious titles are not interested in the script and would rather focus on continuing their own car branded movie. A sixth version is currently being worked on and is expected next year.

EA has acquired the services of the brothers George and John Gatins. The two writers are most famous for their work in Real Steel; a 2011-release set in the future where robot boxing has replaced football as the world’s primary sporting event. The two will be responsible for rewriting the script to better adapt to the big screen, in conjunction with production responsibilities in agreement with EA.

The company’s recent release: Need for Speed the Run, would lend itself perfectly for a move to the big screen. The racer is one of the few games, which feature a full-fledged story with actors, plot twist and plenty of high-speed chases. It is still unknown whether the script holds any similarities to the game or whether it’s an entirely new story going solo.

Given Hollywood's track record with video game movies, I cannot think of a more terrible idea for EA to pursue. About the only thing worse would be a 1940's era NFS that somehow involves Nazis.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1203:09 PM

I watched Real Steel and while I approached movies with an open mind, that one was MEH. Even from a kid's standpoint wherein you dream of finding a discarded robot with "hidden" qualities that could make it a winner... meh. I cannot imagine how they can make a kick-ass NFS movie.

Regarding NFS PU, I think I "collected" the entire lineup of cars 3x. I had a spreadsheet that listed all the cars and printed it out and ticked the cars off as I got it on my garage. I would buy my "prized cars" new and would collect the others via the used-cars lot, fix them, etc. Sometimes I would buy two, fix them, hold on to them for a few years, then sell one for a tidy profit. Lol! When I got to the Porsche supercar at the end, tweaking the gears for a fast Autobahn run was great!

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1205:09 PM

Originally Posted By: - Ice

Lol, I remember when ProStreet gave my old PC the seizures. But yeah, I used to play NFS II SE, I think it was, and loved it.

However, a turning point came when I played NFS Porsche Unleashed. I had to re-learn how to drive those cars, and by "drive," I mean keyboard-and-mouse drive. I was mid-teens during that time, IIRC. The new driving model plus being able to buy, customize, paint and tune your own car made me more "involved" than just racing around madly on a track. Plus any damage on the car you had to pay for in credits, so no-damage driving was actually rewarded. From then on, I liked any iteration that let you "own" a car and tune it more than just changing the skin. Because of that, I never really liked NFS HP. It was good and fun, but not like MW.

I do hope TR goes on sale though, I'd like to give it a go.

Interestingly, I also liked PU the most back then, and I find TR the closest to it in some ways. One thing is you are not focused on cops anymore. Sure there are cops, but that's not the focus, and it's always best to lose them as quickly as possible. I seriously hated purposefully prolonging pursuits just to get points - what's the point of running away without running away?

The other thing is the scenery. After PU there's much less looking at beautiful scenery while racing fast, except HP2 and HP2010. But in TR I feel the scenery is again a respected entity that I can admire, instead of some ugly city/town that just serves as the backdrop.

I also like TR physics a lot. I feel it has the charm of PU's semi-sim approach, and cars themselves actually drive different, have quirks and demand attention. I would say that the combination of semi-sim, beautiful scenery and the simple pure focus on going fast (instead of gaining rep, stars, money, pursuit time, cost to state blah blah) is THE experience I have never had since PU.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1205:39 PM

Does anyone remember if MW had a multiplayer aspect?

As for the cops in MW, the fun bit was gaining enough bounty (running away without running away) to achieve your goal and then still being able to shake the cops afterwards. I think it went up to about 2million bounty points or so, and at that point the cops threw everything at you, heck even the helo tried to crush you IIRC. The scariest were the SUVs that would ram you head on! Being able to get away with so much heat on you was an achievement in itself, even though it wasn't racing per se.

I also loved to win the opponent's cars... I would re-do the race if I didn't get the pink slip. Then when I got their cars, I would strip it to stock and sell everything --- no in-game impact except a few credits but I liked the idea of "insulting the defeated racer" for talking smack

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1205:58 PM

Originally Posted By: - Ice

As for the cops in MW, the fun bit was gaining enough bounty (running away without running away) to achieve your goal and then still being able to shake the cops afterwards. I think it went up to about 2million bounty points or so, and at that point the cops threw everything at you, heck even the helo tried to crush you IIRC. The scariest were the SUVs that would ram you head on! Being able to get away with so much heat on you was an achievement in itself, even though it wasn't racing per se.

Yea, when the heat got to level 5 or 6 they threw absolutely everything at you. It was hectic! It was really fun stuff, and I enjoyed doing the challenges too. I completed Most Wanted to 100%, including the Rap Sheet.

The "problem" with the NFS franchise is that it's gone and done too many different things in the past (a good thing IMO, minus the poor quality games), with Exotics, then Tuners, Cities, Cops, you name it.. they've done it. So it would be hard to bring out an NFS game these days without disappointing a portion of the fanbase.

I was sorely disappointed when ProStreet and Undercover came out. Shift was also semi-disappointing, and I never really considered it as part of the "Need for Speed" series. When Hot Pursuit came out in 2010, I loved it and was glad that the series was back on the right track. Now with The Run, I'm absolutely stoked. Hoping for more good things.

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1206:16 PM

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/13/1206:53 PM

Hehehe... I remember getting the bounty goal, then FAILING to get away from the cops. Disappointed for losing all that "hard work," but also kinda fun looking forward to doing it again. Sometimes when the heat was off and I was bored, I'd find a cop stopped at an intersection and just RAM HIM to get things started. Whheeeee!!!!

ProStreet was kinda fun though I hated hearing "my name" so many times like the announcer was my girlfriend. Way too easy to get to the last level too, again MW was more fun. Undercover was... bleh. Didn't capture my interest. Shift and Shift 2 looked interesting but seemed to want a wheel, wouldn't play nice on my keyboard, so I skipped those too. Did HP get released 2010? Almost 2 years now? Sigh. Finished it twice then don't miss it now.

TR's graphics look really cool though. Do you get to use spike strips or other toys too aside from the nitrous? How about that slow-mo time thing?

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/14/1210:57 AM

Re: Need for Speed: The Run - 04/15/1208:26 AM

Don't let the pink fool ya and she's a tough critic and she loves The Run. My buddy's come over and want to race and I say get past her and you can have me....

So far I have raced very few:) It's genetics folks and if you could have watched her the first time you would agree, the ability to drive by the seat of your arse imho is something you are born with and simply cannot teach.